Generating Portals
by Petchricor
Summary: Aperture Science was a ghost story told to scientists about going to far in their experiments. But it's not much of a ghost story as it is a harsh reality as Rex and Van Kleiss struggle to escape this new hell, will they be able to get along long enough to get out of here? *Rated T for some gore and swears*


**IMPORTANT NOTE: This is the only chapter that will be uploaded for awhile. This is merely a test to see if it will do any good at all, which I doubt, but hey, what the heck? Anyway, enjoy this and I'll update the other chapters I've written when I get a little closer to the end.**

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Rex groaned in discomfort at the throbbing in his forehead, raising a hand to rub the painful spot in the center of it. He briefly wondered what he had been up to earlier that could have caused this, but nothing was really coming to mind. As his body started to wake Rex noted that the room was hardly even warm and he was lying on a medical table of sorts. Rex's eyes snapped open at the thought. Had something happened to him? Was he injured? Rex sat up and looked himself over, seeing that he hadn't sustained any injuries from his fight with Van Kleiss. Rex frowned as he remembered this. Where was the old grease bag anyway?

Forget Van Kleiss, what had happened to his clothes? As Rex finally looked himself over he realized that he wasn't wearing his usual pants and T-shirt, but instead an orange jumpsuit covered his entire body, a black logo over the right side of his chest. As he looked passed his legs and to his feet Rex noted that his black boots had been replaced by less bulky white ones, which had some kind of metal spring-like contraption on them.

"Ok, yeah, this isn't weird or confusing at all," Rex mumbled to himself as he turned so that his legs hung off the side of the table he was sitting on. Getting a good look around Rex saw that he was in a small room with all white walls. Aside from the table he was sitting on there was a toilet, which didn't look like it had been cleaned in ages, and a small, wooden table with a radio and a clipboard on it.

His eyes fixed on the table, Rex hopped to the floor and walked over to it, picking up the radio and pushing the only button on it. He jumped a little as it started to play music, some really old, jazzy kind. With a shrug Rex tossed it to the floor behind him and grabbed the clipboard instead, reading it over. It was just some stats that Rex didn't really care for, so he dropped it back down on the table with a grunt.

Rex looked around him again, stopping as he found a camera hanging in the far corner of the room, just over the table he had been lying on a little while ago. He blinked and tilted his head, the camera looking straight at him. Curious, Rex walked over to the other side of the room, watching the camera as it followed him step for step. Rex walked towards it slowly, the camera still following him. Rex wondered who was watching him and why, what was this room for anyway? Rex's foot kicked the radio on the floor lightly, the jazz music still going.

"Hello, and welcome to the Aperture Science Facility," a loud female spoke through a speaker somewhere, causing Rex to jump in surprise and whirl around. Once he had made a full circle or two Rex's eyes fell upon the camera again, which was still staring at him ominously. "You will be participating in cooperative testing with [insert test subject name here]. If you will please exit." Rex heard a soft hissing noise from behind and turned around, seeing a part of the wall open up behind him. His eyes narrowed.

"What? No!" Rex clenched his fists, determined to use his nanites to get out of this joint, but nothing happened. He blinked and tried again, but still nothing. "Uh-oh." Again, but still no results. He turned to glare at the camera in the corner. "Hey, what gives?!" The camera whirred a little. For whatever reason he imagined the person behind it raised their brow like the answer was obvious.

"That bracelet you have, it nulls your beta brain waves that activate your nanites. They wont be of any use to you," the lady told him flatly. Rex pulled down the sleeve on his left arm to find nothing, then tried his right one to see a strip of silver covering his wrist. His eyes widened. "Now, exit the room. The sooner we begin testing the better." Rex didn't move right away, staring at the bracelet in silence. It gave him the chills. "Exit the room." He glared at the camera one more time before leaving the room. The door hissed closed behind him, blocking out the jazz music that hadn't stopped. After taking a moment to wonder what Aperture Science was and why he was here, Rex headed down the hallway.

 _Click clack click clack click clack_

As annoying at the sound of these boots were, Rex had to admit that they were surprisingly comfortable considering how they looked. Just as white as the floors they were walking on, they looked like they were made of some kind of hard metal or something, the odd metal spring looking like it should be stabbing him in the heel. But the insides were plush and molded to his feet perfectly so that he hardly even felt the impact of his feet hitting the floor as he walked. Rex wondered why they were designed so oddly though. Looking down at his feet caused Rex to walk right into a wall, putting a hand up in surprise as he looked up at it to find that it was made of glass.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't ruin my glass doors," the lady hissed in irritation. Rex smiled at the nearest camera in apology and backed away from the glass, watching as it slid open before him. Rex walked through and stopped as he realized that he had entered a small tube. Rex turned halfway around when he heard the glass door hiss shut behind him. Since it didn't look like he'd be going anywhere soon Rex took a moment to look around, noting the other tube right next to his and the trapdoor below him. Oh, this looked like fun. "Ah, there he is." Rex turned towards where he heard the door for the other tube hiss open and he froze.

"What the hell?" Rex didn't even have the anger to yell, he was too surprised as Van Kleiss entered the other tube, not looking up at Rex as he surveyed his surroundings in silence. He was wearing the same jumpsuit as Rex. Was he the other test subject that the lady had told him about? The one he had to work with? "You're here too?" Van Kleiss finally looked up at Rex, causing the teen to go silent at the expression of fear on his face. But before he could ask or Van Kleiss could explain, the floor disappeared from under them.

AΩ

The fall was a long one, filled with twists and turns, and when it ended Rex expected to break both his legs. But all he felt was a strange tingle. Before anything else Rex inspected the boots, realizing that the metallic casing, the foam inside, and the odd spring were all designed specifically for long distance falls. Impressive. Rex set his foot back on the ground and got a good look around.

They were in the middle of a large room with white walls, though patches of grey were present where the old white had fallen away, and green vines were crawling along the walls and floors, suggesting that this place had been around for awhile and hadn't been taken care of in its old age. There was one door on each wall, each with a different color. Red, purple, yellow, and teal. There was a glass window up near the ceiling, but its purpose remained to be seen. Rex turned back towards Van Kleiss, who was staring at him.

"What?" Rex snapped, not liking the knowing look in those eyes. Van Kleiss walked over towards Rex and stopped about two feet in front of him, using his human hand to brush some hair from his own face. Rex frowned, whenever Van Kleiss was this cryptic it meant something big was up, and he didn't like the uneasy feeling he got because of it. "Well?" Van Kleiss grabbed Rex and pulled him close, startling the boy, who expected to be attacked, but instead found himself brought into a tight embrace as if they were old friends. Sensing something was up Rex hugged back, feeling Van Kleiss lean in close to his right ear.

"This place is bad news, Rex. There is a very high possibility that we will die here, both of us, and never see the light of day again. If we have any chance of escape, we must work together. Understand?" Van Kleiss whispered harshly. After a moment of taking the words in, Rex nodded. Van Kleiss pulled back and patted Rex shoulder, putting on a friendly smile.

"Well, if you two are done with your greetings, we have testing to get done," came that irritated female voice again. The two watched as a part of the floor opened up and two guns came up through it. Both looked exactly the same aside from the two glowing colors on the bottom and top, same ones as the doors. One was red and purple, the other yellow and teal. They both walked over to them slowly, picking them up. Rex weighed his in his hands a little, leaning it to and fro. "This is the Aperture Science portal device." Rex aimed at a wall and fired, an oval shape appearing there, glowing a dim yellow. The lady gave them both time to get used to the idea, using their portals and going through them curiously. "Yes yes, they're fascinating. Now, if you don't mind." The purple door opened.

"Come on, let's go," Van Kleiss said and walked towards the door, Rex following. He had so many questions. Why was this place bad news? How did Van Kleiss know this anyway? Why where they here? How had they gotten here? As Rex stepped into another tube, side-by-side with Van Kleiss, another question came to mind that had him frowning. How where they going to get out?

The floor disappeared from under them and they fell.

AΩ

"I'm not going in that thing," Rex declared, crossing his arms as he said it. The 'thing' Rex was referring to was the puzzle they were supposed to solve. The device he was looking at was behind a layer of glass so that you couldn't jump out except for at the designated exit at the far left. The only way to move through the device was for certain pieces of the wall to move, the only way to make the walls move so you could get through was the buttons outside of the device, and you had to trust the person pressing the buttons not to squish you. Rex didn't trust Van Kleiss.

"Rex, please, we don't have time for this," Van Kleiss said with a tired sigh. Rex turned to look at him, seeing the exasperated expression covering his face. The man looked over at him. "If we're going to get through this was have to work together. It's not in my best interest to kill you, don't you think?" Rex didn't reply, scowling at the man, who growled in irritation. "For goodness sakes!" Van Kleiss shoved Rex onto the faith plate, sending him flying into the air and through the entrance of the device screaming.

"I hate you!" Rex called out to Van Kleiss as he got to his feet, rubbing his chest from the painful impact. He turned as the wall next to him move downwards and sighed, walking through it and onto the other one. The wall moved back into place behind him, allowing him to move forward. The wall moved a little too fast, however, and Rex had to throw himself forward onto the floor so he wasn't squished. He sat up and glared at Van Kleiss through the glass, getting a shrug as a response. "Dumbass."

Rex stood back up and walked forward, standing on the platform. He yelped in surprise as it suddenly moved downward, causing Rex to lift slightly off the ground and land back on his feet. If not for the long-fall boots Rex knew his feet would be hurting. He turned around and saw the cube that they needed. He ran across and grabbed it, heading towards the faith plate, which sent him flying back towards Van Kleiss.

"See? Not so hard," he said in a mocking tone, getting a glare in return. "Now, let's finish this stupid puzzle, shall we?" Rex nodded and followed Van Kleiss over to the laser they needed to reposition.

AΩ

"Ug, are we done yet?" Rex complained, sitting on the ground of the main room as they finished the puzzles passed the red door. Van Kleiss rolled his eyes at the boy, standing beside him.

"For the seventeenth time, you are not," Glados told him. They had learned her name quite a few puzzles ago, Van Kleiss actually having the sense to ask her how they were to address her instead of just calling her 'lady' all the time like Rex had been doing. Rex fell backwards onto the ground and he heard one of the camera's whirring, he imagined she was getting frustrated with them at this point. Well, him mostly.

"Rex, get up," Van Kleiss barked, but the teen didn't move. "Goodness, child, we have work to get done, will you stand up?" Rex groaned in frustration but got his his feet, though slowly. "Come on." The yellow, and final, door opened and they walked through it. Before entering their tubes Van Kleiss leaned in towards Rex, placing an arm over his shoulders as he did. "I have a bad feeling about this, Rex. Keep your senses peeled, I dont know what she'll do when we're done." Rex nodded and entered his tube next to Van Kleiss, feeling his entire body get tingly at the thought of Glados doing something to them when they no longer had use to her.

AΩ

"Testing complete. Enter your tubes to be sent home," Glados said in a cheery tone as they walked out of the testing area and towards their tubes. Rex and Van Kleiss looked at each other nervously, knowingly. Rex had taken off the top half of his jumpsuit, tying the arms around his waist to keep it from falling too far down. Van Kleiss had simply rolled up the sleeves of his. Both of them were covered in sweat, their hair damp from it. They both knew what was coming, they both knew that they were in danger. But what else could they do? "Testing is complete, please enter your tubes." She sounded more irritated that time.

"Come on, Rex," Van Kleiss said with a pained smile, heading for his tube. Rex followed him, both of them tense, both desperately trying to find a way out of all this. Rex stopped just in front of his, grabbing the side of it and just standing there as Van Kleiss turned to look at him. "Rex?" There was a way out, there had to be a way out. Van Kleiss looked like he was excepting it, that they were never going to get home, but he couldn't. He had to get back, back to Holiday and Six and Bobo. He couldn't just give up! Van Kleiss placed a hand on his shoulder and Rex tensed, looking up at him. Van Kleiss was smiling at him, assuringly. "It'll be all right." Van Kleiss gave his shoulder a pat and walked into the tube, Rex following suit.

The door closed behind him, the floor disappeared and he fell.

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 **And that's a wrap!**

 **Thanks for reading, please review and have a bow chicka bow wow day~**

 **Petchricor, QotG, signing off ;)**


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